San Mateo Coast welcomes Mavericks return

Organizers have been tracking the oncoming storm for days now. Jeff Clark, the man behind the competition, owns the Mavericks Surf Shop. He says the weather models look great.

"I think the waves are going to be anywhere from 30 feet plus, but it's a strong swell cause its coming from a long distance away; so it has a very, man, its powerful," he said.

The first waves will hit Saturday, getting bigger on Sunday, the day of the Mavericks Invitational.

Photographer Doug Acton has been shooting the annual surfing event for eight years.

"It's not going to be giant, it's going to be solid; it's going to give athletes a chance to show what they've got," Acton said.

Twenty-four of the world's best surfers will be going against strong currents, frigid waters and jagged rocks to ride the big waves.

It's going to be a big boon to businesses near the famed surf break. One of the beneficiaries will be the venerable cafe, Ketch Joanne.

"It brings a lot of people to us; we really like being next to Mavericks Surf Shop, it helps a lot, " Georgina Wright-Ketch said.

The Harbor Bar, a local drinking establishment, suffered along with other businesses last year, when Mavericks was cancelled because the waves didn't meet the competitions' minimum standards. The festival was held anyway but it wasn't the same.

"They did hold like an opening ceremony kind of thing and they did a couple...it wasn't really as big of an ordeal as we're used to or, at least we have been in previous years," bartender Bobby Bryan said.

Spectators are not allowed to watch the contest from the beach because it is too dangerous. The contest will be streamed online.